Douglas County trappers snag first wolves in inaugural hunt

Douglas County notched its first tally in Wisconsin’s inaugural wolf hunting season Friday.

The Department of Natural Resources reports a female wolf was trapped at 11:30 a.m. Friday within Douglas County. A second wolf was taken in Douglas County early Monday morning, and a third was taken Wednesday. All three were trapped females.

Hunters have 24 hours to report a harvested wolf to the DNR.

The DNR could not provide any other information at this time.

As of Thursday, hunters had reported 44 wolves taken since the season opened Oct. 15.

The DNR has sold 784 licenses — 778 to Wisconsin residents and six to non-residents.

Zone 1, which covers northwestern Wisconsin and encompasses Douglas County, has the highest number of wolf kills at 15. Of those, five each came from Bayfield and Price counties, three came from Douglas County and two came from Iron County. Twelve of the wolves taken in Zone 1 were trapped.

More than 20 wolf packs have territories within or extending into Douglas County, according to the DNR’s 2011 data. The county also has the highest number of verified wolf depredations for 2012, followed closely by Bayfield County.

Eleven incidents of livestock depredation and one hunting dog depredation were verified in Douglas County through Sept. 29. Most of the livestock killed were Holstein or beef calves. Once incident of an attack on chickens was also reported.

Bayfield County had six livestock depredations and two hunting dog depredations.

The 2012 wolf season runs through Feb. 28 unless a zone reaches its harvest quota and is closed early. Zone 1 has a quota of 32 wolves.

As of Thursday, Zone 2 was halfway to its quota of 20 wolves. Zone 4, with a quota of only five wolves, gained its fourth wolf on Wednesday to near closure.

Zone closures will be announced on the DNR telephone reporting system at 855-299-9653 and online at www.dnr.wi.gov.

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